Missions on the Frontiers of Spanish America

This article examines missions as a colonial institution on the fringes of Spanish America. The Spanish Crown employed the mission as a cost-effective form of converting to Catholicism native peoples living on the frontiers of Spanish America, and incorporating them into the new colonial social and economic order. The article compares missions in northern Mexico, the Río de la Plata region, and eastern Bolivia.     

MAKING COLOURLESS GLASS IN THE ROMAN PERIOD*

This paper discusses the compositional analysis of Roman colourless glass from three sites in Britain. The findings suggest that two broad compositional groups can be identified on the basis of the choice of the initial raw materials selected for glass production, in particular the sand. The largest of these groups is inherently different from the naturally coloured, blue–green glasses of the same period, while the other group is compositionally similar. Further subgroups are apparent on the basis of the decolorizers used. These glass groups are explored in the light of the current theories concerning the organization of glass production in the Roman world.     

GLASS BY DESIGN? RAW MATERIALS,RECIPES AND COMPOSITIONAL DATA*

Compositional analyses of ancient and historic glasses have often been interpreted in terms of the use of specific raw materials in glass manufacture. However, the known inhomogeneity of many glass‐making raw materials and the insolubilities of some compounds make any explanation of compositional data problematic. This paper looks at three glass‐making alkalis with a view to understanding how the compositions of these raw materials are carried through to the final glass. The chemistry and variability of the raw materials are discussed, as is their contribution to the final glass composition. In addition, the choices and decisions made by glassmakers are acknowledged in the final glass compositions. This combination of factors addresses the complexity of predicting the use of specific raw materials from the finished glass composition.     

Source water protection in a landscape of 'New Era' deregulation

The concept of source water protection (SWP) has gained prominence in the water resource literature. SWP consists of watershed and groundwater management for the protection of drinking water supplies. The logic behind SWP is that it is easier, cheaper and safer to protect a drinking water source from contamination than it is to remediate after contamination. SWP is largely a regulatory activity, requiring provincial government policy commitments. This research investigates the degree to which recent provincial deregulation plays a role in constraining SWP implementation at the local water utility level. The research was undertaken in British Columbia (BC) where, after 2001, the provincial government advanced widespread 'New Era' deregulation of social and environmental legislation. The apparent contradiction between government deregulation and government commitment to safe drinking water is interrogated. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and document review in the Okanagan Basin. This article reveals that New Era deregulation initiatives have constrained local efforts to implement SWP on the ground. This article recommends that a single provincial agency should oversee drinking water in BC and that greater attention be given to regional governance for drinking water management in the Okanagan Basin.     

From colonialism to theology: encounters with Martin Wight's international thought

Martin Wight's writings range far more widely than those of most leading historians and theorists of International Relations. His thought escapes from the parochialism of particular academic disciplines and departments. It also escapes from the provincialism of the present, our preoccupation with immediate issues of foreign policy, which is a preoccupation with ourselves and our society. He grappled with some of the great questions of his era, from colonialism to nuclear war. But in doing that he tried to get beyond his time, by recalling other times when similar questions were current. The mark of a leading thinker and writer is the heavy weight of his thought on his readers. Martin Wight's writings left me with a number of ideas and suggestions the accumulative effect of which is the view I hold of International Relations.     

The case of the World Trade Organization

This article explores the relationship between power and rules within the context of international relations, utilizing as a case‐study what is arguably the most powerful international juridical institution in the world today, the World Trade Organization (WTO). The author draws upon a number of his previous works on the subject of the WTO and its predecessor, the GATT, wending through such topics as: the way that political and diplomatic leaders improvized and filled in the gaps of international institutions when the original idea for an International Trade Organization (ITO) failed; the remarkably elaborate development of the particularly deep and rich WTO Dispute Settlement (DS) jurisprudence (over 60,000 pages); and the constant tension between the role of nation‐state power and the power allocated to international institutions, apparently necessitated by the huge impact of ‘globalization’ and interdependency in world affairs (especially economic) today. Various specific issues and cases illustrate these tensions and allocations, including treaty interpretation techniques, the degree of deference towards the members’ government actions, the arguments about the appropriate role of the ‘adjudicators’, and the delicately sensitive approach of the DS system towards clashes of policy necessitating ‘balance’. Throughout, particular emphasis is laid upon the ‘rule oriented’ (‘more legalization’) approach of the WTO DS jurisprudence, both in reflection on the historical and current developments of that juridical system—from ‘power oriented’ to ‘rule oriented’—and also in the important roles regarding tensions between ‘sovereignty’ concepts and international rule needs.     

Recognition or imposition? Federalism,national minorities,and the Supreme Court of Canada†

ABSTRACT. This paper makes two main arguments. First, federalism in Canada, properly conceived, is a system which evolves as a result of struggles over the norms of mutual recognition between territorially based groups. Second, if federalism is to work as a way of accommodating national minorities, the role of the judiciary in adjudicating this relationship must be taken into account, because it plays an integral role in the continuing contestation of the arrangement. I begin with the ‘problem’ of national minorities in the nation‐state system and why federalism is espoused as a solution for alleviating tensions, focusing on Canada. I then turn to review the relevant jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in adjudicating the federal arrangement. Finally, considering this jurisprudence, I reflect on why it is important to account for the role of the Court when promoting federalism to accommodate national minorities. I go on to argue that a dialogical approach to federalism, as opposed to a monological one, is best suited to do this.     

Impacts of River Regulation on the Terminal Lakes and Mouth of the River Murray,South Australia

The River Murray is a highly regulated, low gradient stream. Prior to barrage construction near the Murray Mouth saline water was present sporadically far upstream. Barrage completion by 1940 has had geo-morphic and ecological impacts. Estuarine Lakes Albert and Alexandrina became permanent freshwater bodies with elevated water levels. Exposed lake margins have eroded by up to 10 m yr', whereas along sheltered shorelines, sedimentation has accompanied reed growth. Upstream weirs have inhibited coarse sediment from reaching the lakes. In the Goolwa Channel, sedimentation changed from bioclas-tic sands to muds, accumulating at up to 4.5 mm yr' over the past 50 years. Regulation has also transformed a migrating flood tidal delta at the Murray Mouth into a permanently vegetated island.